Device for determining a feeding position for an original form in a copying machine

ABSTRACT

A device for alignment of the side edges of a copy sheet with an original in which the support for the original has a sliding member mounted thereon to align with the side edge of the original. This sliding member is connected by a flexible connector to another sliding member mounted on the copy sheet support and abutting the side edge of the copy sheet. Movement of the original sliding member is transmitted by the flexible connection to the copy sheet sliding member so that the two sliding members are maintained in planar alignment.

Umted States Patent H 13,589,710

[ 72] Inventors Ohiko Yogi; [56] References Cited Nobuyuki Yanagaw, both of Tokyo, Japan UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 if? 32 12 287.421 /1883 Dexter 271/59 x d Jam-3251971 387,249 8/1888 Nash 271/s9x l 1 a 1,629,477 5/1927 Christopherson 271/59 ml 2 052 829 9/1936 Johnston 271/59 [32] Prior" g i f qgz 2,398,315 4/1946 Little........ 271/59 [33] y g 3,311,371 3/]967 Zeuthen 271/59 3 42/ 330 FOREIGN PATENTS 74,939 4/1949 Norway 271/61 Primary Examiner-Joseph Wegbreit Attorney-Burgess, Ryan & Hicks ABSTRACT Ad r 1' 1m 'd d 1 [54] DEVICE FOR DETERMINING A FEEDING co sheet with h o ri ii nil ii/ hic the s: e rt o r thi smou FOR AN ORIGINAL FORM IN A W g 1 P0 original has a sliding member mounted thereon to align with PY l j the side edge of the original. This sliding member is connected 5 Chums 4 Draw by a flexible connector to another sliding member mounted on [52] US. Cl 271/9, the copy sheet support and abutting the side edge of the copy 270/58, 271/6! sheet. Movement of the original sliding member is transmitted [51] Int. Cl B65h 1/04 by the flexible connection to the copy sheet sliding member so [50] Field 0! Search 271/59, 61, that the two sliding members are maintained in planar alignment.

PATENTEDJuH2919n SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTORS Ohi/co Yaqzl .Nobu :lki lzznyawa, 34.4%,,

TORNEYS SHEET 2 OF 2 PATENTED M29 ran DEVICE FOR DETERMINING A FEEDING POSITION FOR AN ORIGINAL FORM'IN A COPYING MACHINE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION This invention relates to a device in a copying machine with an automatic sensitized copy sheet feeder for determining, depending on the size of the sensitized copy sheet contained in the copying machine, the feeding position of an original form.

Generally, in a copying machine having an automatic sensitized copy sheet'feeder, feeding inlets for an original form and a copy sheet are provided separately and further, a copy sheet table is provided to place a stack of copy sheets thereon so as to enable automatic feeding of the copy sheets to the copying machine. With this type of machine, therefore, correct automatic alignment of an original form with a copy sheet when feeding them into the machine is difficult without an original form positioning device because of the variable positions the original form may possible take relative to the copy sheet. Furthermore, a copy sheet table to place a stack of copy sheets thereon requires a suitable covering means such as a lid for preventing exposure of the copy sheets to the natural light. In a machine where a lid is used for a covering means, such lid needs to be opened each time when it is necessary to know the size of the copy sheets.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a means for determining the feeding position of an original form to enable correct positioning of an original form relativeto a copy sheet, so that alignment of an original form with a copy sheet will always be ensured when the former is fed into the copying machine. Another object of this invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks of the conventional copying machine having an automatic feeding mechanism, thereby enabling an improved efficiency in making copies.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an example copying machine with an automatic sensitized copy sheet feeding device, to illustrate an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main part of another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 a perspective view of the main part of still another embodiment of this invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an original form on an original form feeding table 1 in a predetermined position relative to a copy sheet is adapted to be fed into an original form feeding inlet 2 and delivered into a path 5 through a pair of rollers 3 and 4. While the original form is being transported within the passage 5 in which is provided a microswitch 6, the leading edge of the original form is adapted to push an activator 7 of said microswitch 6. Inasmuch as said microswitch 6 is designedto operate as a switch for a circuit of a driving means rotating a roller 8 in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, movement of the sensitize activator 7 by the leading edge of the original form activates the rotation of the feeding roller 8. The feeding roller 8 is supported by means of sideplates 9 and I and adapted to be pressed with a suitable pressure on the upper surface of the copy sheets stacked on a copy sheet feeding table 11, so that the copy sheets will be fed one sheet at a time towards a copy sheet feeding inlet 12 upon rotation of said feeding roller 8. While the original form is being delivered in said path 5, a copy sheet which has been fed into said copy sheet feeding inlet 12 enters into the passage by means of a roller 13, where the original form and the copy sheets are overlaid with their side edges aligned and are delivered between rollers 13 and 14. On the forwarding side of the roller 13 is provided a leading edge alignment member which is adapted to freely enter into or retract from the passage 5. The leading edge alignment member 15 is connected, by means of a lever mechanism, with the roller 14 pressed on the aforesaid roller 13 in the passage 5, so that the leading edge alignment member 15 moves out of said passage 5 when both rollers 13 and 14 are pressed onto each other, or that the roller 14 moves out of the passage 5 when the leading edge alignment member 15 enters the-reinto.

When an original form and a copy sheet aligned at their side edges enter between the roller 13 and 14, the roller 14 is disengaged and the leading edge alignment member 15 is erected, whereby the leading edges of both the original form and the copy sheet comes into alignment with each other.

The original form and the copy sheet thus aligned at their leading edges are transported further to a printing section I6 to receive exposure of a light source and then separated thereafter by means of an automatic separating means 17. Exposed copy sheet thus separated from the original form is then carried towards a developing means 18 while the original form is transported between rollers 4 and 19, The original form and the copy sheet are thereafter delivered respectively out of the copy machine through delivery openings 20 and 21. In the passage for the original form is provided an opening and closing plate 22 which is closed, when multiple copies are required from the same original form, to enable delivery of the same original form towards the direction of rollers 3 and 4 instead of the delivery opening 21.

As obvious from the aforesaid description, the leading edges of the original form and the copy sheet can be aligned to each other by means of a leading edge alignment member 15 pro- I vided within said passage. It is not possible, however, to provide a mechanism for aligning the side edges of the original form and the copy sheet within said passage. Therefore, it is proposed in this invention, a mechanism whereby the feeding position of an original form will be predetermined at the proximity of the original form feeding inlet.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the sensitized copy sheets stacked on the feeding table 11 are held between the sideplates 9 and 10. These sideplates are adjustably positioned on the copy sheet feeding table so as to come in contact with each side of the stack.

At the bottom of the sideplate 9 is fixed a bar 24 through slit 23 provided on the copy sheet feeding table 11 and the slit is opened in such a size as to permit movement of said bar 24 concurrently with the adjusting movement of the sideplate 9.

On the original form feeding table 1 is provided an original form positioning plate 25 having, at its lower surface, a bar 26 and a slidable guide feet 27 and 28. The'original form positioning plate 25 is slidably mounted on the feeding table 1 with said guide feet fitted in guide grooves 29 and 30 which are provided such that the surface 250 of the positioning plate 25 will run parallel with the side edge of the stacked copy sheets. The bars 24 and 26, which are respectively provided on said guide plate 9 and said positioning plate 25, are both interconnected by a wire 34 extended around pulleys 31, 32 and 33 which are fixed, at their respective axis, to a stationary member. The bar 26 is further pulled, in an opposite direction from the wire, with a spring 35 which is fixed, at its one end, to a stationary member.

By prearranging the surface 9a of the sideplate that will come in contact with the side surface of the stacked copy sheets, and the surface 25a of the original form positioning plate 25 so that both surfaces will be on the same plane, the amount of movement by said sideplate surface 9a dependent on the size of the copy sheet can be transduced, through the aforesaid pulleys and wire mechanism, to the amount of movement of the positioning plate surface 25a. Therefore, by aligning a side edge la of an original form with the surface 25a of the original form positioning plate 25, alignment of side edges of both the original form and the copy sheet becomes possible.

In FIG. 3 is shown another embodiment of the present invention, in which an original form feeding table 101 is provided with a guide slit I02 fitted with a freely slidable original outer end of said original form positioning bar 103 is con-.

nected, through pulleys and wire mechanism, with a sideplate 104 for stacked copy sheets, while said bar 103 is adapted to be pushed outward by a spring which is fixed, at one end, to the original form feeding table. The indicator scale 105 of the original form positioning bar 103 is inscribed such that the scale 105 and the side surface 1040 of the aforesaid sideplate 104 will be on the same plane, so that by aligning the side edge of an original form with said scale, the side edges of both the original form and the copy sheets are automatically brought into the same plane. Furthermore, by inscribing on the original form feeding table a scale for different sizes of the copy sheets, the size of the copy sheets stacked on the copy sheet table will be readily known by reading the indicator scale 105.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. ln this embodiment, an original form positioning bar 203 which is slidably mounted, by means of a guide slit 202, on an original form feeding table 201, is connected, at its outer end, with a piston of a piston cylinder mechanism provided at one end of a pressure conveyor tube 204. Said pressure conveyor tube 204 carries, at its another end, another piston cylinder mechanism 206 the piston of which is connected with a sideplate 207 for the stacked copy sheets. The original form positioning bar 203 carries an indicator 208 which is scaled such that said positioning bar is always on the same plane with the surface 207a of said adjustable sideplate 207 for copy sheets, so that when the sideplate is moved according to the size of copy sheets stacked on the copy sheet table, the original form positioning bar 203 is also designed to be moved accordingly.

The opposite end of said original form positioning bar 203 is pulled by a spring which is fixed, at one end, to the original form feeding table. As obviously from the aforesaid description, with an original form positioning device connected with a pressure conveyor tube, determination of a feeding position for an original form or the indicator of the size of the copy sheets can be easily performed.

According to a device for determining the feeding position of an original form embodying the present invention, in which the position of the side surface of the copy sheets stacked on a copy sheet feeding table is indicated directly on an original form feeding table by means of a pulley-wire mechanism or a pressure conveyor mechanism, copying failure due to erroneous feeding of an original form as well as waste of copy sheets can be prevented and efficiency in copying operation will be considerably improved.

Needless to mention, this invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, but various modifications will be possible within the scope of the claims of this invention. For example, in the proximity of an original form feeding table can be provided a window in which a movable member coupled with the movement of a sideplate for copy sheets and indicating copy sizes can be designed to be shown. ln a case where the size ofcopy sheets is designed to be shown on an original form feeding table or at the proximity thereof, it goes without saying that the copy sheets need to be set, irrespective of the sizes, at a predetermined position on a copy sheet feeding table.

We claim:

. An alignment device for a copying machine comprising:

a first support means on which an original sheet is positioned;

a second support means remote from said first support means and on which one or more copy sheets are positioned;

a first member mounted to slide horizontally on said first support means, said first member having an element settable in a predetermined position with respect to a side edge of said original sheet;

tension means connected to said first member to maintain said first member slidably movable under tension; a second member mounted to slide horizontally on said second support means, said second member having a platelike portion positioned in a vertical plane and adapted to abut the side edge of the copy sheets;

the vertical portion of said second member and said element being located in the same plane; and flexible connecting means having one end connected to said first member and the other end connected to said second member, whereby horizontal movement of one member is transmitted by said flexible connecting means to said other member to maintain said second member and said element in planar alignment.

2. A device according to claim 1, in which said first member has a platelike portion positioned in a vertical plane and adapted to abut the side edge of said original sheet, and said platelike portions of said first and second members are maintained in planar alignment.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which said flexible connecting means comprises a wire carried by a plurality of pulleys, one end of said wire being connected to a bar mounted on said first member, and the other end of said wire being connected to a bar mounted on said second member.

4. A device according to claim 1 in which said element comprises an indicator scale settable to a marking corresponding to the side edge of said originally, and said marking and said platelike portion, of said second member are maintained in planar alignment.

5. A device according to claim 1 in which said flexible connecting means comprises a first piston cylinder mechanism connected to said first member, a second piston cylinder mechanism connected to said second member, and a pressure conveyor tube interconnecting said piston cylinder mechanisms. 

1. An alignment device for a copying machine comprising: a first support means on which an original sheet is positioned; a second support means remote from said first support means and on which one or more copy sheets are positioned; a first member mounted to slide horizontally on said first support means, said first member having an element settable in a predetermined position with respect to a side edge of said original sheet; tension means connected to said first member to maintain said first member slidably movable under tension; a second member mounted to slide horizontally on said second support means, said second member having a platelike portion positioned in a vertical plane and adapted to abut the side edge of the copy sheets; the vertical portion of said second member and said element being located in the same plane; and flexible connecting means having one end connected to said first member and the other end connected to said second member, whereby horizontal movement of one member is transmitted by said flexible connecting means to said other member to maintain said second member and said element in planar alignment.
 2. A device according to claim 1, in which said first member has a platelike portion positioned in a vertical plane and adapted to abut the side edge of said original sheet, and said platelike portions of said first and second members are maintained in planar alignment.
 3. A device according to claim 1 in which said flexible connecting means comprises a wire carried by a plurality of pulleys, one end of said wire being connected to a bar mounted on said first member, and the other end of said wire being connected to a bar mounted on said second member.
 4. A device according to claim 1 in which said element comprises an indicator scale settable to a marking corresponding to the side edge of said originally, and said marking and said platelike portion, of said second member are maintained in planar alignment.
 5. A device according to claim 1 in which said flexible connecting means comprises a first piston cylinder mechanism connected to said first member, a second piston cylinder mechanism connected to said second member, and a pressure conveyor tube interconnecting said piston cylinder mechanisms. 